Advisor to the Experts

Financial Services Executives

Many of our clients are in the financial-services sector themselves, in areas such as venture capital, private equity, asset management, hedge funds, investment banking and real estate. These sophisticated clients often bring with them highly complex financial circumstances that require specialized expertise.

Specialized Services

Carried-Interest Tax Strategies

Many financial services executives face wealth-planning issues specific to their industry. For example, General Partners often have significant carried interest in their funds, creating formidable tax and cash-flow challenges. At WMS, we know how to establish legal vehicles to move that carried interest into, creating enormous tax and estate-planning advantages. This is just one example. Since we keep track of your financial situation throughout the year, we can spot these opportunities for you as they arise and avoid year-end scrambles when your K1 arrives.

Maximizing Tax Advantages on Stock Distributions

Many investments are Qualified Small Business Stocks that can provide significant tax advantages, including a 100% capital gains tax exclusion. The tax rules for these distributions can be complex and are often overlooked. We will coordinate with your accountant to make certain that the most tax advantaged outcome is achieved.

Customized, Collaborative Portfolio Construction

Financial services leaders frequently have their own investing insights. For these sophisticated investors, we introduce complementary strategies, both public and private, to build an overall portfolio that manages risk and takes advantage of the client’s unique investing perspectives. At WMS, there is no one-size-fits-all portfolio, and we welcome the chance to leverage your investment expertise.

Cash-Flow Modeling and Planning

For larger portfolios with illiquid private investments, the importance of proper cash-flow planning cannot be overstated. All it takes for a seemingly sophisticated portfolio to fall into chaos is one capital call that causes a cash crunch at the wrong time. But off- the-shelf financial-planning software built for the average investor simply cannot handle the complexity inherent in such complicated portfolios. Over the years, our team has built the systems to make this part of your financial life simple.

Cross-Sharing of Investment Ideas

The ideas of our clients who have built their wealth in the investment world are often of interest to other sophisticated clients. Where appropriate, and with our clients’ consent, we share these best ideas among our other client families. Because of the sophistication of our clients, we gain access to investment opportunities unavailable to other advisory firms. We can also leverage our clients’ knowledge base for a deeper level of due diligence on those opportunities.